Bo Ruoyou had just finished bathing and changing, when the door of the mansion was knocked again. She was suspicious, and after a while, Aunt Liang came to the door, "Miss, Wu Zhaohou is here—"
Bo Ruoyou was greatly surprised, quickly pulled her hair up, put on another robe and walked towards the main hall.
When she arrived at the main hall, she saw that Huo Weilou had brought Huo Qinghong with her. She looked at the two brothers in confusion, "Why did Lord Hou come with the son? What happened?"
Huo Weilou looked at Huo Qinghong, "Say it."
Huo Qinghong hurriedly described what he saw in the Bird Garden that day, and said: "When I saw it that day, I thought it was the king of Nan'an County and his guests killing birds for fun, and the dead bird was hanging under the osmanthus tree. , It was also very easy to be discovered, as an outsider, I didn't need to ask them what was going on, and I left soon afterwards, but I didn't expect that people died in just two days."
Bo Ruoyou felt a chill in her heart, only then did she understand why Huo Weilou came back so late, she quickly regained her composure, "I'd better tell Catcher Wu about this, there is no such coincidence—"
After she finished speaking, she suddenly realized something was wrong, and then looked at Huo Weilou with trembling eyes, "Today we found a blood sparrow nailed to death in a coffin in the Bird Garden!"
Her heart jumped up suddenly, "If it's a coincidence, it's too weird. Is the murderer deliberately foretelling that he will kill someone?"
The murderer always wants to hide his tracks, the less known the better, but there are also some people who are weird and arrogant. Not only are they not afraid to let others know, but it is best to attract everyone's attention, let's "appreciate" them together means of harm.
Bo Ruoyou thought about this and felt shuddering, Huo Weilou said: "Don't worry, I have sent someone to the yamen to inform Wu Xiang, Wu Xiang must have known by now, Hong'er discovered the blood sparrow two days ago, if the murderer is serious To harm people by killing blood sparrows, it is likely that they will not do it tonight, I have already sent someone a message, it is best to keep people in the Bird Garden, lest other people will be killed."
Bo Ruoyou's tense heartstrings were slightly loosened, and she knew that Huo Weilou had always acted thoughtfully.
She invited the two of Huo Weilou to sit down and served tea again. After a short while, Cheng Yunzhi also came out of the inner room with his clothes on. When he heard about the situation of the case, he also listened with a gloomy expression, "Anyone who has the intention of harming others will do so." You can’t treat it as ordinary people think, if this person’s method of killing is cruel and cruel, and he intends to punish him, and even kills birds as a foreshadowing, then he must have a very cunning and ruthless mind.”
Those who are not very courageous will never dare to intentionally reveal the intention of killing to everyone. The murderer is like this, which can only show that he is extremely vicious and extremely arrogant. However, today's search and autopsy in the park did not find any key clues, which also shows that The murderer was indeed a man who thought carefully and acted neatly. Such a perpetrator was the most difficult to deal with among all the suspects.
Just as he was talking, another person came outside the gate of the mansion. Zhou Liang opened the door and saw that it was a guard sent by the Hou Mansion.
The attendant entered the entrance and went to the main hall to report: "Master Hou, I have already told Butou Wu what you ordered. He is now leading people back to the Bird Garden, and our people are going with him. If there is any trouble, we will report back immediately." .”
Bo Ruoyou glanced at the sky, it was already the second watch, if Wu Xiang was late...
A haze shrouded her heart, and Huo Qinghong felt a little palpitated when he heard it. Thinking that the blood sparrow he saw that day was most likely done by the murderer, he felt even more shuddering as if he had met the murderer face to face.
At this time, Huo Weilou comforted him: "The blood sparrow was strangled to death under the osmanthus tree, but today the people from the yamen went to the garden to inquire, and no one mentioned it, which is a bit strange."
Bo Ruoyou also thought of this, "That's right, no one mentioned this matter, otherwise we should have sensed something was wrong at that time."
"Did the servants conceal it, or did the murderer take away the blood sparrow's body?" Bo Ruoyou said again: "Jiang Xing, who was pretending to be the blood sparrow, died in the lake a month ago. Later, the murderer used the blood sparrow as an introduction. Is it possible to avenge the Blood Sparrow?"
Naturally, these doubts cannot be answered, and it is also their inference that the murderer used the method of killing birds to predict that he would kill someone. Kill birds
Bo Ruoyou subconsciously asked Cheng Yunzhi, "Father, do you know how long the coffin nails can be?"
Cheng Yunzhi thought for a while, "Customs vary from place to place, and the number of nails used varies in different lengths. The longest coffin nails I have ever seen are more than six inches long. The coffin lid nailed down will not come loose until the coffin rots." , In addition, in some places, there is a saying that the longer the coffin nails, the more powerful the protection against evil and evil will be, and some people have grievances when they die, and the coffin nails used after death are quite long."
Huo Qinghong didn't realize that Bo Ruoyou asked what he was doing, but when he figured it out, his face turned pale, "You... Are you thinking that the murderer would kill people by killing birds? But people's heads are full of bones , can you really traverse the past?"
Bo Ruoyou looked at Cheng Yunzhi, and Cheng Yunzhi said, "The skull is not impenetrable, and a person's temple is an extremely fragile place. Not to mention sharp coffin nails, even knives and daggers can penetrate."
Huo Qinghong's scalp went numb for a while.
The night covered the surrounding fields like thick ink, and Bo Ruoyou waited anxiously. If it wasn't for the time, she really wanted to visit the Bird Garden. After waiting for more than half an hour, she followed the servant of the Hou's mansion who went to the Bird Garden to Cheng Zhai .
The attendant said: "There has never been an accident in the Bird Garden. The county king is not in the Bird Garden. A few stewards are in charge of guarding the garden. Because of a murder case, everyone dare not be careless. They all live in one place in twos and threes, and they are arrested and questioned." There was no response to the dead bird under the osmanthus tree that day, but when it was said that the dead bird was done by the murderer, a steward just stepped forward. They deliberately concealed the death of the bird from the king of Nan'an County. , afraid of being punished by the King of Nan'an."
Huo Weilou asked again: "Will anyone stay in the garden tonight?"
"Yes, the arrester left some yamen guards in the garden, and he has to go back to the yamen to interrogate people. The few people who were arrested in the yamen this afternoon didn't find any useful clues."
When Bo Ruoyou heard that people were being kept in the garden, she felt a little relieved, and hurriedly asked: "Then, have you got the coffin nails?"
The Yacha stayed behind in the garden, if the murderer wanted to harm someone, he would be too cautious to act, but the murder weapon used to kill the birds could be used as evidence, the attendant nodded, and Bo Ruoyou felt relieved.
Huo Weilou also felt that such an arrangement was the best, seeing that the night was getting dark, he said goodbye and left the house, Bo Ruoyou went to see them off in person, when they left the house, Huo Weilou couldn't help but took her into his arms and hugged her.
Although it was pitch black before the door, but in front of all these people, Bo Ruoyou blushed, "Hou Ye—"
The attendants looked at each other carefully and did not dare to vent their anger. Huo Qinghong had already gotten into the carriage, at this moment he lifted the curtain and looked out, then hurriedly put down the curtain, his teeth felt as if he had drunk vinegar.
Huo Weilou accepted her as soon as he was ready, and kissed her on the cheek before returning to the carriage, Bo Ruoyou calmed down and acted as if nothing had happened, and only went to caress his burning ears after entering the house profile.
These days Bo Ruoyou sleeps well, rarely dreams, wakes up early the next morning, and goes to the yamen, Wu Xiang arrests Liu Qing and the others in the garden, but after interrogating them all night, they are almost tortured, and no one is asked. What happened, everyone was surprised that Xun would be killed, and they didn't even think that anyone in the garden had a life-and-death enmity with him.
Bo Ruoyou just felt weird, "Could it be the enmity formed before entering the Bird Garden?"
This is not impossible, Wu Xiang sighed and said: "I have already sent people to check his previous theater, it will take a little effort, but I know one thing, Jiang Xing, who is pretending to be a blood sparrow, has nothing to do with him. They came out of the same boat, not only that, Liu Qing and the other two, there are five of them in total, they were all taught by a master in the early years, but the master's family class collapsed, and the few of them went on their own. Entered the Huafang Theater and other places, and later was favored by the king of Nan'an County by accident and entered the Bird Garden."
Operas are popular in the Great Zhou Dynasty, so there are naturally many opera troupes seeking a living in the workshops. Some prestigious teachers and parents are obsessed with it all their lives, and they will raise many young apprentices under their knees, but to achieve some achievements in this way, they all need to be talented and lucky. Only one person can be a talented person, so raising a hundred apprentices may not be able to become a famous and profitable character.
And those who can't sing the pillars, most of them are matched in the painting boat theater building. At this time, if there are noble people who are willing to buy them as offerings, most of them will not refuse, and they have no right to refuse.
Wu Xiang said: "The teacher's father is from Chaozhou, and he came all the way to the capital from the east. There is a kind of poultry show in Chaozhou local variegated opera, which is to make birds and beasts come alive, and add many juggling tricks. The singing is lively and lifelike. Nan'an The county king is happy to raise birds and beasts, and because of this, their brothers and sisters have gathered in one place again."
Bo Ruoyou frowned, "With such entanglements first, is there any old enmity?"
At this point, Wu Xiang's tone became serious, "Don't tell me, they are all over the age of double ten now, and the oldest one is already twenty-five, but the troupe disbanded seven or eight years ago. Yes, during the intervening years, most of them have been away from each other, their relationship has long been weak, and in the theater, almost no one knows about it, as if they deliberately concealed it."
Brothers who were not very close in the early years, now they are competing for favor in the same place, so it’s not a big deal not to mention it, but if you deliberately conceal it, it would be a bit weird. It would take a lot of effort to inquire about the old things many years ago, Bo Ruoyou was not in a hurry, and only mentioned to Wu Xiang about the killing of the bird.
"The blood sparrow was hanged on the osmanthus tree, and Yu Xun was also hanged to death, and he was still wearing a feather coat made of blood sparrow feathers. The two are so similar. The murderer seems to be punishing, or paying homage, or, just It’s frightening to be mysterious, in short, it makes people feel that the similar blood sparrows did not appear for no reason, and even so, the crucified blood sparrows seem to be showing something.”
Wu Xiang nodded and said: "Don't worry, I have reserved enough manpower, not only that, but also let Hou Yang change their clothes, pretend to be rough emissaries for shopping, and run to the garden every day, I don't believe it, the murderer is serious He can still kill people. As for the coffin nails, I sent people to the city to investigate, they are very common nails, and every coffin shop in the capital will punch them."
Bo Ruoyou said in his heart that he was very thoughtful, so he only hoped to find clues from the past investigations. Seeing that there was nothing wrong with the yamen, he bid farewell and went to the Hou's mansion. , but there is always a tendency of repetition inside, she can't rest assured, so she has to visit every day to feel at ease.
Wu Xiang used human hands to check the painting boats, but from the painting boats, he didn't know that Jiang Xing and Yu Xun had an old enmity, and if he had to go back, it was difficult to find out the old things back then. Unknown, after many years, and it was originally a theater troupe wandering around, it was really hard to find traces, Wu Xiang detained Liu Qing and others for three days, but to no avail, he released them back.
However, on the day they were released back, troubles suddenly occurred in the Bird Garden, which had been calm for several days like stagnant water.
At dusk, the left-behind yamen came to report that Song Zhongming, the craftsman in charge of taming animals and raising birds in the Bird Garden, found the coffin nail with the dead blood finch. In order to hide it, he actually buried it in the domesticated BMW. Among the fodder, if the boy who fed the horses hadn't found out, he would have escaped there. When the yamen's servants questioned him, this person wanted to escape from the Bird Garden even more.
With physical evidence, he still wants to escape. Could it be that the murderer is active? !
Wu Xiang went to the Hundred Birds Garden in person, and arrested this person together with other government servants.
As night fell, in the dimly lit cell, Wu Xiang was interrogating this middle-aged man who was over forty years old and good at tame skills. He was as tall as Wu Xiang, with a pair of calloused hands, and Because of the long-term sun exposure to the bronze color, and because he is always accompanied by birds and beasts, there is a vague smell of mutton on his body.
"Does this baggage belong to you? You are a horse trainer, and you also have the key to the hay barn. You go in and out every day, and you distribute and take care of most of the hay. Do you dare to say that this thing belongs to someone else? "
Song Zhongming stretched his face, narrowed his narrow eyes, and clenched his hands bound by iron chains into fists. His knuckles kept tightening and loosening, loosening and tightening again, and his whole body was more tense like a bowstring. , this appearance can tell what is hidden.
Seeing that he was silent, Wu Xiang slapped the table in front of him heavily, and asked sharply, "You are the one who killed the bird, right? You were the one who nailed the bird to death in a coffin, and you were the one who strangled the blood sparrow with a rope." , you can tame horses and birds. I heard that you are very good at training Parrot and Haidongqing. It is easy to catch a few sparrows. You strangle the sparrows first, just to tell others that you want to kill them. Is it human?!"
Cold sweat poured out of Song Zhongming's forehead, but he still pursed his lips and said nothing. Wu Xiang stepped forward, grabbed his collar, and stared at him, "I asked the people in the garden, you and Jiang We had a good relationship before, and we even tamed a white parrot for him, you know his death is weird, you want to avenge him, don't you?"
"I... I'm not... that coffin nail! Not mine at all!"
Song Zhongming finished speaking tremblingly, but Wu Xiang sneered, and pulled the collar even harder, making Song Zhongming breathless, "The coffin nails are not yours, and the burden is yours? Besides you, who else?" Dare to hide something in your place?!"
"The burden is mine, but the contents inside are not mine!"
Wu Xiang was even more surprised, "Are you saying someone stole your baggage? Or are you saying that you did hide something, but it wasn't a coffin nail?"
Song Zhongming gritted his teeth and said nothing, Wu Xiang threw him down on the shackled chair!
At the same time, in the Bird Garden, due to a murder case, everyone shut their doors at night, and the huge garden was pitch black. When the cool breeze came, the trees and flowers rustled, and occasionally there were wild cats. Jumping between the mountains and rocks, it is as terrifying as a ghost.
The boy who was in charge of taking care of Liu Qing came out of his room, holding a food box in his hand, and was going towards the kitchen. The ground cast a shadow of teeth and claws, and he became more and more frightened as he walked, his palms were dripping with cold sweat, and his heart was about to jump out of his throat sooner!
When he reached the edge of Moon Lake where the rockery stood, he seemed to hear a crisp beating sound amidst the whimpering wind. The sound was like iron objects colliding, or like a stone falling to the ground. The sudden blow made his hair stand on end.
He paused, and hurried to listen carefully, but the sound suddenly disappeared again, his heart was beating non-stop, he didn't dare to stay in the garden any longer, and immediately trotted to the kitchen.
The starless and moonless sky was pitch black, and when his footsteps were far away, in the night wind like a crying baby, the low, inaudible sound of icy blows resounded again. The hammer was raised and lowered, raised and lowered again, and after a while, the bloody smell seemed to be swallowing people...